Water meter cap

Sabrina222

Hi all, my daughter who is 17 (soon to be 18) has a neurological disease and due to that she suffers from incontinence. She is also Autistic and has obsessive/compulsive tendencies which result in excessive showers. She also has a wash and dry toilet that uses a lot of water. 

We are due to move to a property that has a water meter and I have looked at watersure cap but the way I read it, you have to be in receipt of benefits in order for the water meter to be capped. My daughter is in receipt of PIP but no one else in the family is in receipt of any benefits other than child benefit and carers allowance. Am I right in thinking we would not be eligible for watersure cap and if not is there anything else that is available? I am panicking about the cost of a meter and with the amount of times my daughter showers I feel the cost will be astronomical. Thank you 

Kimmy87

Some water companies do offer Water Sure if on DLA or PIP. 


There may be other options:

https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/customer-assistance/

Have a look on the water company website to see any other help that might be available. 

OverlyAnxious

You may find a water meter isn't as bad as you're expecting.  I also use a lot water due to my conditions, being at home all day and having some plumbing faults that really need repairing.  But my water bill is still only a third of my electric bill.  I did have the option of moving to a fixed rate disability tariff, but it would have cost more than the metered water does in my case.

If the shower is just mains fed, they don't use all that much water.  If it's a power shower, you may be able to reduce the flow rate on it and/or fit a water saving shower head.

Sabrina222

@Kimmy87 I’ve had a look on there and United utilities don’t list PIP 😟. 

@OverlyAnxious thank you for your reply, that’s made me feel a little better. Currently I am paying £33.81 a month, I keep hearing horror stories about people getting bills for £800.00 + per year on water meters. 

When you say power shower, do you mean an electric shower? At the new property there is an electric shower. 

OverlyAnxious

Sabrina222 said:

@OverlyAnxious thank you for your reply, that’s made me feel a little better. Currently I am paying £33.81 a month, I keep hearing horror stories about people getting bills for £800.00 + per year on water meters. 

When you say power shower, do you mean an electric shower? At the new property there is an electric shower. 

Being honest, I would expect that to increase a bit.  It sounds low for 2+ people but costs do vary in different areas.  I currently pay £40 a month for a single person, but £10 of that is the standing charge.

Yes, electric showers have pumps in them that increase the water flow rate.  They do use more than a normal shower that just comes off the mains. 

Kimmy87

Universal Credit - in your daughters circumstances a claim can be made before she turns 18.

https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/eligibility

You can manage the claim on her behalf (if appropriate) 

https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits 

That might then qualify your household for Watersure with United Utilities- although I would wait for a few months water usage data to see whether it would actually be cheaper. 

Like Overly Anxious, my household found in the past standard tariff cheaper even though we qualified for a special tariff. 

Albus_Scope

Hey there @Sabrina222 and welcome to the community from me too.

I can see you're already getting some top advice, but I just wanted to stop in and say a quick hello.